#PhenomenalFriday: “Rigor Is Your Friend”
Over the past few years, I’ve experimented and worked to perfect structuring my Reading and Word Power according to Bloom’s Taxonomy.
This year, Writing has been incorporated into that process, to go along with an organic, cross-disciplined focus(all the ELAR subjects embedded within each discipline).
Monday, I started to see the fruits of this approach. When I gave my students a Reflexive Pronoun exit ticket, my student, instead of writing the reflexive pronoun in the projected sentences, she wrote a short paragraph using “myself.” In this paragraph, she shared a character trait, feeling and made a real world connection.
Her response was hilarious but enlightening. It gave me insight into the effectiveness of a cross-curricular, rigorous approach based around Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Wednesday, I taught the kids how to analyze a story for the first time. They struggled a bit–as they weren’t used to higher order questions. (Remember that.)
Thursday, my students finished their personal narrative: What Happened At School?
To make it more relatable, I had the kids write it in the form of a text message. After they completed the assignment, they could synthesize it by illustrating a new story or their narrative.
During the Word Power block, the students had a station titled: A Little Math. One of their weekly words was “whole”, so I had them analyze a picture with four pizzas slices and write how many more slices they needed to make it whole and who they would share it with. One student actually wrote that she’d share it with me…too awesome.
I moved on to analyzing text. Now adjusted to the concept of examining a text, the kids displayed better critical thinking skills.
For example, one of the questions was: What did Sandy realize at the end of the story?
Student Response: That next time she shouldn’t be mean and say sorry.
Friday, I analyzed Reflexive Pronoun with a fill in a blank story. After the kids’ independent practice, they answered two comprehension questions and illustrated the story. They’re not just Writing about Reading but answering questions about Writing.
100 percent of the kids aced their Word Power quiz. (Two weeks before, most of them failed…progress.)
And to conclude the day, they struggled on their Characters Quiz but there was one glow. I asked the students: How would the story have been different if one character wasn’t in the story. Many answered that the main character would have still been angry…synthesized!!!
It’s early but my scholars are embracing challenging content.
Why not?
Rigor is your friend.
I leave you with one thing.
1. Are you challenging those that you lead?
Be Phenomenal, Mr. Short
The Phenomenal Student 
Dear Mr. Short, your presentation with your team was excellent at the LitCon and Reading Recovery conference. I just watched your on demand session. Thank you for this informative session and incorporating Bloom’s Taxonomy in your powerful word study program. I would like to know where did you get the materials to use, such as the materials used for your stations and each day’s activities? Are they from a program or did you make them yourself. I know the pictures from the Houston Zoo and Chucky Cheese were local. Did you have to make all of your other materials? If so, you may want to consider writing your own program.
I also really liked that you had “live” participants on the On Demand platform. This was really a phenomenal presentation and I hope you will return next year with a follow up or having produced “Jeriemiah Short’s Phenomenal Word Study Program”.
Have a wonderful day!
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